Free Republic

Ted Cruz is running late. In a quickly crowding hallway in the middle of the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in National Harbor, Md., a yellow-shirted CPAC volunteer is trying to keep control of a metastasizing line of conference attendees waiting for a Cruz meet ‘n’ greet. “His speech went long,” she tells me. With the possible exception of Sarah Palin, Cruz has to be the most in-demand CPAC star. The Texas senator has been a grassroots darling from Jump Street. So his appearance at the mother of all conservative events means hallways will be clogged, iPhones will be...

Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX), a former chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, has apparently had enough of what he sees as the pro-amnesty mentality at the Conservative Political Action Conference. In response to a panel which includes four proponents of comprehensive immigration reform and one critic, Smith ripped the American Conservative Union, which hosts CPAC, in a press release. “You have to wonder when a self-described conservative organization stacks an immigration panel with amnesty advocates,” Smith accused. “For the second year in a row, CPAC has featured a panel where all but one speaker supports the agenda of liberal Democrats...

Billionaire businessman Donald Trump ditched the teleprompter at the Conservative Political Action Conference on Thursday and received huge ovations as he slammed President Barack Obama's leadership both at home and abroad. "We have so many problems — and we have so little leadership," Trump said at the session in suburban Washington. "It's all about the leadership." He cited China's move this week to devalue its currency against the American dollar, as well as Russian President Vladimir Putin's assault on Ukraine as examples of the United States' decline as a world power. "The reason why they're doing it is because our...

National Harbor (United States) (AFP) - How do you win the White House? US conservatives and Tea Party faithful launched their annual convention Thursday seeking to answer that gnawing question after several setbacks in Washington. Born of a grass-roots thirst for small government and greater protections of constitutional liberties, the Tea Party movement celebrated its fifth anniversary last month amid deep divisions within the Republican Party in a mid-term election year. Internal battles have uncomfortably pitted the party's politicians against one another as the far-right seeks to oust establishment Republicans in the Senate and House that the movement deems insufficiently...

Ted Cruz, the rock-ribbed conservative Texas senator who figures to be a factor in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, told thousands of conservatives Thursday morning that the IRS should go the way of the dodo. 'We need to abolish the IRS,' he said, calling instead for a flat income tax rate and a user-friendly tax return that can be filed on a postcard. That verbal gauntlet, thrown as much at a near-century of tax collection as at the Obama administration, was Cruz's biggest applause line.

Actually, although I have video of his speech, I don’t have video of the reception he got. You’ll have to trust David Freddoso and Eliana Johnson on that: The crowd gathered at the Conservative Political Action Conference rose to its feet as Chris Christie exited stage left…Christie’s remarks were highly anticipated, not only because of the lingering scandal but also because CPAC brass dinged him last year by leaving him off of the guest list. Today, the governor was greeted with murmurs and some quiet cheers; he drew more excitement from the audience as he proceeded…Christie returned to a familiar...

The Honorable Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) speaking at CPAC 2014 on 6 March 2014 in Washington, DC. Follow us on Twitter at #CPAC2014

Spoiler alert: He’ll let us down. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell promised a ballroom full of activists Thursday that he would fight “tooth and nail” for a conservative agenda if he takes the helm of a Republican majority next year…“If I’m given the opportunity to lead the United States Senate next year, I won’t let you down,” McConnell said. “I will lead with integrity, we will fight tooth and nail for conservative reforms that put this country back on track, we will debate our ideas openly, we will vote without fear, and we will govern with the understanding that the...

Republican leaders implored conservatives to offer stark contrast to President Barack Obama’s policies and stand firm on principles as a way to win back Senate control in the fall elections and prepare for the 2016 presidential campaign. Thursday marked the first day of the annual Conservative Political Action Conference, which brought together prospective White House candidates, conservative opinion leaders and tea party activists from coast to coast. As the party faces a tug-of-war for the soul of the GOP, Republicans made the case that the party must unite and offer a different path in the midterm elections. “You win elections...

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell promised a ballroom full of activists Thursday that he would fight “tooth and nail” for a conservative agenda if he takes the helm of a Republican majority next year. That, of course, will require Republicans to pick up six Senate seats in November and McConnell to win his own re-election in Kentucky. The five-term incumbent faces a GOP primary challenger who regularly attacks him as an insufficient conservative leader. McConnell walked on stage at the Conservative Political Action Conference to applause, thanks in part to a large rifle he held over his head before handing...

Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) received a lukewarm reception from conservatives gathered for the annual Conservative Political Action Conference on Thursday, despite delivering a speech full of conservative red meat. The Senate minority leader's address came as he faces a fierce primary challenge from his right flank and frustration from conservatives with his role in a number of contentious policy debates this year, most recently his vote to raise the debt limit. He arrived on stage accompanied by retiring Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.), whom he thanked for his service to the movement with the gift of a rifle — and framed...

"Mitch McConnell strode out onto the stage at the Conservative Political Action Conference on Thursday morning, packing heat. The Senate Minority Leader finds himself in an odd position at CPAC...."

CPAC 2014 kicks off this morning at 9 AM, with comments by Ted Cruz. I didn't see a thread, nor have I been able to find any links to a live stream of the event. If not, why not? If there are, please post the link. Lots of fascinating speakers..link to the list below..

Conservative firebrand Ted Cruz launches political convention with crowd-pleasing demand to abolish the IRS Ted Cruz, the rock-ribbed conservative Texas senator who figures to be a factor in the 2016 U.S. presidential election, told thousands of conservatives Thursday morning that the IRS should go the way of the dodo. 'We need to abolish the IRS,' he said, calling instead for a flat income tax rate and a user-friendly tax return that can be filed on a postcard. That verbal gauntlet, thrown as much at a near-century of tax collection as at the Obama administration, was Cruz's biggest applause line. 'By...

"A full stomach — and an empty soul." That scathing synopsis of the Democrats' pitch will be the crux of Paul Ryan's message to the Conservative Political Action Conference on Thursday, when the Wisconsin Republican addresses activists. Ryan's critique, even if delivered in his usual aw-shucks style, will probably stir talk of a possible presidential bid. Politicians looking only to chair the Ways and Means Committee rarely toss out such red meat. In the speech, which the Post obtained late Wednesday, Ryan also urges Republican to craft a conservative reform agenda, and talks up the legacy of his mentor, Jack...

Are atheism and promoting atheism consistent with American -- let alone conservative -- values and principles? The operational policy of the American Conservative Union now appears to contradict Ronald Reagan's view on this. Reagan believed atheism was not merely wrong, but the enemy of freedom. The ACU has functionally adopted the position that groups promoting atheism can be featured at its annual Conservative Political Action Conference -- so long as they promote godlessness with civility. In the same 1983 speech in which he declared the Soviet Union an "evil empire," Reagan unapologetically spelt out the "ideals and principles" that...

House Speaker John A. Boehner, who has tangled repeatedly with the right wing of the Republican Party, has not been invited to this week’s Conservative Political Action Conference, a major snub at the annual gathering and a sign of the top Republican officeholder’s struggle to find common ground with grass-roots activists. People familiar with CPAC’s planning, who spoke only on the condition of anonymity, said the American Conservative Union, which hosts the event, never sent an invitation to Mr. Boehner, in part because it wanted the focus this year to be on leading conservative thinkers at the grass-roots level and...

Four women and 22 men are among the confirmed speakers for next week's Conservative Political Action Conference, taking the stage at a time when conservatives are putting more effort into attracting women to the movement. The American Conservative Union, which sponsors the annual event in Washington, has confirmed that former Alaska governor and 2008 vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, Tea Party Patriots President Jenny Beth Martin, and American Conservative Union Foundation Chairwoman Carly Fiorina will take the stage, The Huffington Post reports. Conservative columnist Ann Coulter is on the lineup March 8, the ACU reports. She is scheduled to debate...

This morning, American Atheists announced the group would have a booth at the Conservative Political Action Conference beginning March 6 in Washington. “‘Conservative’ isn’t a synonym for ‘religious’,” said American Atheists president David Silverman in a statement announcing the booth. “In fact, a fifth of conservatives seldom or never pray, and the same number state religion is not important in their lives.” “If conservatism doesn’t embrace religious neutrality, its influence will wither and die,” Silverman said. “Atheists are a growing constituency—an increasingly united constituency—and conservative legislators ignore our vote and our voice at their own peril. We demand equality and...

The Conservative Political Action Conference has rescinded its permission for American Atheists, a nonprofit that protects the civil rights of atheists, to sponsor an information booth at the conservative gathering next month. “American Atheists misrepresented itself about their willingness to engage in positive dialogue and work together to promote limited government,” said CPAC spokesperson Meghan Snyder in an email. (snip) But revoking American Atheists’ booth wasn’t enough to appease some conservative groups angered by the invitation itself. Media Research Center President Brent Bozell said that revoking the booth “makes no difference” and is urging all conservative groups to withdraw entirely...